


In chess, as it is in life

by sabrina_il (marina)



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-09
Updated: 2012-03-09
Packaged: 2017-11-01 16:57:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/359156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marina/pseuds/sabrina_il
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma has nothing better to do with her time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In chess, as it is in life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_Ganesh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ganesh/gifts).



> Please read [part 1](http://archiveofourown.org/works/357505) and [part 2](http://archiveofourown.org/works/358656) first.

It's a quiet evening and Emma is unofficially on Make Sure The Students Don't Set Too Many Things on Fire duty. Officially, Xavier is in charge, always, because the boys he's got are barely old enough to shave and the villains he's recently moved in with aren't keen on assuming responsibility.

But, unofficially, Azazel and Riptide are out, Erik and Charles are meeting with some government agency, and Emma is as close as this house full of sleeping children has to a responsible adult. Besides, she's found the role of disciplinarian surprisingly appealing. She'd never liked children before, but something about the structure and the goal-oriented nature of teaching has made her… look forward, almost, to spending time with them.

Everything seems quiet. The children are either in their beds or engaged in the sort of harmless rule-breaking activity Emma's willing to allow and so she decides to head for the library. Emma's last psychic battle with Charles – over a breakfast that turned unexpectedly eventful – resulted in her discovering where he hides the truly excellent scotch. 

She finds the library occupied, however. Raven is lying on the rug, in front of the fireplace, reading and sipping tea from a large mug.

Emma knows Raven isn't actually that much younger than her. She only looks like Charles' younger sister, in reality they're the same age. But, practically, Emma sometimes wonders if Raven wouldn't benefit from moving to the students' wing of the house. Tea, at an hour like this, after the day they've had? Emma heads straight for the small, locked cabinet above the fireplace. 

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," Raven says, closing her book. 

"Few people do," Emma says, fetching the key from its hiding place and liberating a bottle of perfectly aged liquor. Charles really is kidding himself if he thinks this mechanism will keep it out of the students' reach. Emma doesn't know what boarding schools he grew up in, but at hers the staff had learned to be much more careful. 

"Can't sleep," Raven says, taking another sip of the tea. Emma wonders if it's meant to be an excuse, if Raven feels the need to explain her invading a space so thoroughly Charles' without his permission. The thought is almost too sad to contemplate. Really, what was the girl thinking moving back here?

"Me neither," Emma lies. "Would you like a game?" she adds, after surveying the chess board set out on the table in the middle of the room. She proceeds to take a seat in one of the plush chairs facing each other across the board without waiting for Raven's answer. 

"No, I… I don't how to play," Raven says, finally, with a faintly apologetic smile. 

Emma can't keep the surprise from her features, which the girl clearly takes for a form of judgment. 

"I'm not really good at stuff like that. You know, the slow, brainy stuff, sitting quietly and staring into space for hours. That's not me." Raven adds, the uncertainty on her face hardening into derision. No doubt a mechanism she had plenty of time to perfect with a brother as attentive as Charles, Emma thinks.

The silence stretches out between them. Emma puts her glass down on the table and crosses her arms before meeting Raven's eyes. "Nonsense," she says, letting the authority of her words sink into Raven's mind before continuing. "Would you like me to teach you?"


End file.
